Lullaby of an Angel

Prologue

         As Megan Connors made her way through the hall she seemed to have a cloud of sorrow hovering over her. She had just discovered a mistake that her and her boyfriend Johnny Pastoreli had made. She was pregnant. It had to be at least a month now and all the symptoms were starting to kick back in. She had gone to the extremes of doing five pregnancy tests and they all told her the same thing. She was pregnant for sure. She had made an appointment with an obstetrician, and she would be going to see Dr. L. Jennings on the second of June. She looked around nervously then continued down the hall.
         She was a little nervous about what Johnny would say. She didn’t know how he would feel towards having his girlfriend get pregnant, but she hoped he wouldn’t have a bad reaction. She walked down the hallway nervously and found Johnny’s door. She knocked on it and waited and then smiled gently when Johnny opened the door. “Hey baby.” He said playfully as he pulled her to him wrapping a hand around her waist.
         She pushed him away when he started to kiss the soft tender flesh at the nape of her neck. “Johnny,” she said gently pushing his head off her, “I have something I need to tell you.” She said gently looking up in his big brown eyes.
         Johnny narrowed his eyes for a moment in thought. He could see that something in the deep emerald eyes of hers that something was bothering in her. “What is it, baby?” He asked gently as he closed the door behind them as he pulled them into the apartment that was filled with the smell of alcohol and the rest of Johnny’s crew watching a soccer match. She knew that Johnny wasn’t exactly the type of person on the good side of the law and she knew that the men she was always with were druggies and boozers who were a part of his father’s associates. His father was the leader of an organized crime group and it worried her sometimes.
         She looked over to his friends when they let out a whooping holler before looking back to Johnny. “Could we find a more private place to talk?” She asked gently looking up at him.
         He smiled gently and pulled at her red hair playfully. “Sure thing, babe.” He said as he led her down the apartment hall to his bedroom. He sat down on the bed, but she didn’t sit in his lap as she often did. It had him even more edgy. “So, what’s going on?” He asked curiously.
         Well, here went nothing. “Johnny, I’m pregnant. I must have screwed up on my birth control because that’s the only thing I can think of.” She said gently looking down at the floor and her feet then back up at him. She watched as he crossed the floor to her. She didn’t look up at him. She was too afraid that his reaction wouldn’t be all that great.
         Johnny cupped her face with his hand and lifted her face up to him. He saw that she was scared and couldn’t help, but feel protective of her. “Are you sure?” He asked softly. When all she did was nod he smiled gently and gave her a light kiss. “How long?” He asked gently brushing some of her auburn hair out of her face.
         “About a month or so.” She murmured softly feeling relief spread through her. How could she think that he wouldn’t be happy? She knew that Johnny had always wanted kids.
         He pulled her close and gave her a passionate, heart melting kiss. He felt her respond instantly and smiled gently before he reluctantly pulled away. “We’ll get through this. I promise, baby.”
         Little did Megan know that those would be the last true words of endearment form Jonathan Pastoreli’s mouth that she would ever hear.


Chapter 1

         Jamie cursed at the sound of pounding on his front door. He groggily got out of the bed and heard the pounding again. It was pouring down rain, he noticed, as he pulled on a pair of jeans. “I’m coming.” He muttered angrily as he made his way to the door. “What the hell-" He cut himself short as he looked at his sister soaked to the bone on his front porch. He looked at her in surprise and it took him a few moments before he started to notice that her stomach was bulged out and then it clicked. She was pregnant. “Megan? What are you doing here?” He asked softly looking up from her stomach to her face. There was terror written all over her face and he was worried.
         She looked at her brother shaking gently. “Let me in and I’ll explain everything.” She murmured softly. Jamie didn’t need anymore coaxing to let her in. He opened the door looked down at her.
         “Have you got any other clothes?” He asked gently looking back up at her.
         “I’m afraid it all got soaked in the downpour.” She said softly looking up at him.
         “Well, we’ll throw them in the dryer and you can have some clothes from my dresser till then.” He said gently as he looked back at her. In pretty quick time he had found some clothes for her to change into and she came out of the bathroom in one of his shirts and a pair of pajama bottoms that wouldn’t have fitted had it not been for her rounded stomach. He thought about the last boyfriend she was with last time he had chatted with her. What was his name? Jimmy? No, Johnny. Yeah that was right. “Is Johnny the father?” He asked gently watching her.
         She froze as she drank some fresh milk he had fixed for her. He no doubt noticed her stiffen at the name. “Yes.” She answered softly looking down at the stomach. Her expression seemed pained to Jamie. It couldn’t have been a good sign.
         “What did he do to you, Meg?” He asked softly watching her for another reaction.
         She looked up at him then took a big gulp of the milk looking out the window at the pouring rain. She looked down at the glass then up at him. “He… he hit me.” She stammered softly and started to shake her head. “I don’t know what happened to him. He… he was sweet and nice to me the first month then it just started getting worse and worse… and finally he hit me, and after that, things started to go downhill with him, but that wasn’t all.” She said starting to shake uncontrollably. Jamie walked over to her and hugged her close. “He killed somebody, and I barely got away from him. I don’t know how, but I did. It took me two months to get here to you.” She said as tears started to trail down her face. She buried her face in his chest as the tears fell and she clung to him.
         Jamie had been waiting for this day for years. Their parents had never really shown much affection to their two children and it was only natural for one of them to try to find it in someone else. Jamie had a few girls in the past, but not near as many as Megan's experience with men. He had been waiting for a while for her to land with the wrong guy and not only did she do that, but she came up pregnant as well. “It’s okay. I’m here, Meg Pie.” He said softly using her childhood nick name that he had donned on her as he began rocking her back and forth softly. He hated seeing her like this really. It was sad, honestly, but maybe she would learn something of this. He sure hoped so, especially when she got herself wrapped up with a murderer. He was going to have to talk to his house mate about that when he got in. Hopefully Cole would be in not to long from then. He looked down at her and sighed softly. “Come on, I’ll give you my bed for tonight, but if you plan on staying for a while we’re going to have to work out some sort of sleeping arrangements because honestly, we only have two rooms.” He said gently as he pulled away from her. He looked down at her. She looked so helpless. He looked down at her stomach. She was vulnerable too.
         She nodded in agreement and looked up at her brother. “So, you still have a house mate?” She asked gently. Jamie nodded gently.
         “I promise he won’t give you any trouble. It’s not like he’s ever here anyways.” He said gently. “He’s an investigator.” He mentioned gently.
         She nodded gently and smiled softly. “How appropriate, a fire man and a cop sharing a house.” She teased sweetly.
         Jamie chuckled and nodded. He looked down at her stomach once again then up at her. “How far along are you?” He asked curiously.
         “About five and a half months.”
         He nodded and then led her to his bedroom. He showed her around and soon enough he was getting a few things for her in the night. He felt like he had when they were younger and he had helped her get into bed when their parents neglected to. It was truly sad really. Two kids not more than a few years apart taking care of each other. Jamie watched her sleep for a while before his beeper went off. He quickly silenced it and started to get ready for work. Apparently there was a house fire about five miles form the fire department and they needed back up to get there as soon as possible.


         Cole Sinclair walked into the house tiredly and looked around. He had noticed that Jamie’s truck wasn’t parked where it usually was so he had assumed that he had gotten called in. It was almost four in the morning now. He trudged into the kitchen and found a note scribbled out in Jamie’s familiar handwriting, but there were actually two on the paper.

Megan,
         I got called into work. I don’t know when I’ll be back o if you need anything just ask Cole if he’s there and he’ll help you out.
                                                                     Jamie

“Who the hell is Megan?” He asked himself reading the note over, but then he continued reading what was meant for him.


Cole,
My sister showed up early this morning, so I would appreciate it if you were quiet. If she asks you for help please help her out. She’s in no condition to stress herself out and if you don’t get my drift then you will when you see her. I’ve got some other stuff to let you in on so hopefully you won’t be gone by the time I get back home.
                                                                               Jamie


         Well, he knew who Megan was now. Jamie hadn’t really talked about her all that much in the year that he had been living with Jamie. He thought about what he meant by her “condition”. He pondered for a moment before he heard someone scuttling through the hall. He looked to the door as a large womanly figure appeared and he froze in his spot at the sight of the pregnant young lady in front of him.
         Megan stopped and looked up at the very handsome form of who she assumed to be her brother’s house mate. She found herself caught up on his looks too. He had beautiful dirty blond hair and stone gray eyes that were watching her. From the way he had his shirt sleeves rolled up she could see the raw power that his arms could wield with those sinewy arms of muscle. She shook her head softly and looked up at his rugged yet fatigued face. “Uh, you must be Jamie’s housemate.” She said gently watching him as he set his coat on the kitchen table.
         “Uh, yeah, Cole, Cole Sinclair. You must be Megan.” He said gently looking her up and down. He had to admit for a pregnant lady she was quiet beautiful. He could only imagine that full head of auburn hair in the sunlight and her eyes were a beautiful green that was almost as green as the hillsides of Ireland. “I uh, hope I didn’t wake you.” He said gently watching her as she made her way to the fridge.
         She looked up at him as she pulled out the milk. “Oh, no, the baby... was kicking.” She said gently as she rested a hand over the bloated stomach that proved her condition. She set the milk down and started to look for the glasses. Cole reached in a cabinet next to him and found her a glass and handed it to her. “Thank you.” She said gently as she took the glass from him and started to pour up some milk. He took note that no wedding band or engagement ring graced her left hand to indicate that she had a man in her life. What did he know though? She could at least have a boyfriend. It’s not like she could get pregnant on her own.
         “How far along are you?”
         “About five months.”
         He watched as she drank some of her milk slowly. She was beautiful in her own way. He couldn’t help but adore her flaming red tousled hair. It fell just past her shoulders in a thick mass of locks. Her expression though. There was something there in her lovely green eyes. Was if fear or worry that he saw? Or perhaps it was both. He definitely felt an attraction towards her as he watched her drink the milk. He looked out the kitchen window when she looked up at him. “If you need absolutely anything, I won’t mind you waking me. I am a cop after all.” He said giving her a playful grin. He felt something pull at his heart when she let out a soft chuckle and her own grin.
         “I’ll keep that in mind, but you can go to sleep if you wish.” She said sweetly as she finished off the glass of milk and rinsed out the glass.
         “You’re not going back to bed?” He asked curiously giving her a questioning look.
         “If I could I would gladly, but this little one,” she said looking down at her rounded stomach and patted it gently, “doesn’t usually let me sleep past four or five in the morning.” She said gently looking back up at Cole. She could see the concern and shook her head softly. “Don’ you go fretting over me. I’ll be fine. You need to sleep anyways.” She said gently shifting uncomfortably before moving out of the room to the laundry room. Cole just watched her before he moved towards his room, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off. He undressed and dropped to his bed tiredly.
         Meanwhile in the kitchen,  Megan folded her dry clothes and tossed the rest that were soaked in the dryer along with the duffle bag that they had been in. She looked out the kitchen window thoughtfully. She’d been so stupid to think that Johnny really meant what he said. He’d nearly killed her one night. She was lucky her and the baby had survived, and she was glad that she had gotten away. It took her two months, and in those two months she learned about Johnny’s “family business”. It had scared the hell out of her more than anything. She was happy to be here, in the safety of her brother’s home. Their parents hadn’t ever really been the best parents, but at least they hadn’t beaten on her and Jaime. Sometimes no attention at all could be just as abusive as beating a child too though.
         She’d lived without that love and approval from her parents. It was part of the reason she could certainly pick them. She sought the love that her parents had never given her. For now, she just pushed those thoughts away and wandered into the small living room and carefully situated herself on the couch after finding the controls for the TV. She turned it on and flipped through stations for a while till she found something that interested her.

      Cole woke at about seven and could hear the TV running off in the background. He got out of the bed and pulled on some jeans before he walked out to the kitchen, making a detour to the living room to check on Megan. He looked down at her, fast asleep on the couch. He nodded in approval, happy that she wasn't doing anything stressful with her body. He wandered over and stooped down, next to her, covering her up with a warm Mexican blanket. He paused and studied her for a moment thoughtfully. She was lovely, all peacefully asleep and what not.
      He turned off the TV before he stood and turned to the kitchen and was fixing some breakfast, figuring she would wake at the smell. He looked up to see Jaime pulling up in his old '67 Shelby GT. He'd spent about a year fixing it up, and once it was more than a hunk of junk, he'd given a paint job so it wouldn't look like one. Jaime came through the front door and could hear the TV. He looked to Cole, who was back to scrambling eggs for the three of them.
      "She doing okay?" He asked gently as he fixed a cup of coffee.
      Cole nodded gently as he poured the eggs into a hot frying pan. "Yeah. She must have fell asleep on the couch. I came in around four this morning and she just woke up, and I guess she just kind of piddled around after that." He said gently as stirred the eggs
        Jaime glanced to the living room and then went to check the dryer. She hadn't brought much, and he knew that. It worried him a little. "Care to explain why she showed up on your doorstep?" Cole asked looking to Jaime.
        Jaime sighed and looked down to his coffee. "She's running from the baby's father." Jaime said gently looking up at Cole. "She claims to have seen him killing someone, not to mention he beat her." He said gently.
        Cole froze and turned to Jaime. Killed someone? He glanced to the door that led into the living room for a moment thinking of what kind of horror she must have experienced with that. Nobody deserved to experience such violent things, especially not someone in Megan's condition. "She's going to need to talk to the police, Jaime."
      "You think I don't know that?"
      "Know what?" Came the soft groggy voice of the topic of their subject. Cole turned to her and studied her. Her eyelids were still heavy with sleep, her hair tousled and still just slightly damp. Her face was flushed from sleep as well. The look most certainly fit her.
        "You need to go to the police with this, Megan." Cole said as he took the pan off the burner and fixed three plates of scrambled eggs before he slapped some bacon in the pan and started to fry the slices up.
        Megan watched him thoughtfully as he fixed their breakfast. He was right. She needed to go to the police, but she was scared. Jaime could see it. She knew he could because he knew her so well. He always knew what she was thinking some how. He reached over and pressed a hand down on hers. "I know you're scared, Meg, but you have to. He will not hurt you as long as you're here. I promise." He said gently, know just what feathers to unruffle. She looked to Cole for a moment then back to Jaime.
        She closed her eyes and nodded gently. "Okay." She murmured softly, shifting uncomfortably. She looked back to Jaime.
          Cole didn't miss the fear. He could understand her fear. It wasn't just about her, but the life she carried in her as well. He set a plate infront of her and Jaime before he sat next to them. "I'll take you in tomorrow. Okay?" He said gently. He only elicited a nod though.
        Jaime noticed this and frowned slightly. "I'll come with you if you want." He said softly, studying his baby sister. She looked so scared and vulnerable, and it didn't sit well with him. She had never been the scared and vulnerable type. What had Johnny Pastoreli done to the woman his sister had been.
  Megan's brows furrowed gently. "Don't you have work tomorrow?" She asked in a low voice.
  "Yeah, but you're more important to me than work, Meg." Jaime soothingly stroked his hand up and down her arm before it traveled to her back and soothingly rubbed up and down.
  She shook her head and looked at him. "I'll be fine with Cole. I'm sure he can handle a pregnant lady for one day." She said gently as she looked to Cole, her gaze meeting his.
  Cole didn't say anything though. He just nodded. He would have figured that she would have wanted Jaime to come along, but perhaps there was an inner reason for it. He wasn't going to pry though. He imagined there were some things that she didn't want Jaime to hear while she gave her statement.